Motorist booked following crash that killed Moonshadows owner
A 21-year-old motorist suspected of causing a fiery crash in Woodland Hills that left two people dead — including an owner of the Moonshadows restaurant in Malibu — was booked on suspicion of murder, authorities said Thursday.
Kevin Gonzales was hospitalized following the crash that occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 23100 block of Mulholland Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was held on $4 million bail, police said.
According to police, Gonzales was driving a Toyota Camry eastbound at a high rate of speed when the car rear-ended a Ford Mustang, killing its two occupants.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office withheld the names of the fatally injured people, described only as males, pending positive identification. But acquaintances and employees identified them to media outlets as Andrea Bullo, one of the owners of Moonshadows restaurant in Malibu, and his 13-year-old son Marco.
Moonshadows was closed on Thursday, and it was unclear when the award-winning eatery known for its scenic ocean views and fine cuisine would reopen.
According to Moonshadows’ website, Bullo began his career at the Venice restaurant Do Forni e Antico Pignolo, where he worked from 1979-81. He also worked at a series of five-star hotels, “which gave him the perspective to be an effective personnel manager with a high level of empathy, but also a direct approach to discipline,” which contributed to “the unusually low staff turnover in the operations he has managed.”
He took over Moonshadows in 2001 with friends Rodolfo Costella and Franco Simplicio.
Gonzales survived the crash and was taken to a hospital in good condition, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.